Still hand quilting

I am still hand quilting on the yellow Dresden plate quilt.  It's taken a loooooong time, but it's so worth it.  And, I can actually see the finish line.  It's still a long way away, but at least I can see it now. 

I've put in eight of these feathers around the border.  They took some time, but now they are done.  There's still background work to do, but I'm saving that.  The weather is getting hotter, and the last thing I want is this quilt on my lap.  I can put it in the frame and quilt around the edges without it actually touching me.  Today is the first 100* day, so you can imagine that I'll be making progress on this background work soon.

 

I made a significant mistake when I was putting the quilt together.  I re-cut all the Dresden fans before I started.  I cut around four sides.  But, I didn't take off any length.  That was bad!!  The dark fabric extends beyond the seam allowance of the yellow center in several blocks, so I'm removing the centers, folding that back into the seam allowance... can't cut it off because the hand stitches that hold the fans together start in that area... and then sewing that down, and putting the yellow center back on.  Then, I can quilt in the yellow center.



 

It's a lot of work.  But, this quilt is so beautiful and it's so worth it.  I don't know what I was thinking when I started.  I really had no idea how big this project would get.  I have made decisions as I went, and those decisions have gotten more and more complex, taking more time, and pushing out the finish further. 

But, it's going to be fabulous, hanging in a show, with all that tiny hand quilting showing up under the lights.

And, no.  I will not be taking on another multi-year hand quilting project.  At least I don't think I will.  I learned to machine quilt so it wouldn't take years to finish a project.

Everybody have a great Tuesday!  I made a significant mistake at work last week and am having to pull new data to bail myself out.  Fortunately, I didn't tell many people I was finished with he project, so very few people know I had to start over again.  Think twice, pull data once. 

Lane